China and the United States kicked off a new Chinese language
and culture initiative in New York on Wednesday by signing an
agreement of cooperation in promoting Chinese language and culture
programs in the US.
Witnessed by Chinese Education Minister Zhou Ji and his
delegation, Xu Lin, director-general of China's National Office for
Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language (Hanban) and Gaston
Caperton, president of the College Board of the US, signed the
agreement at a ceremony.
The initiative will address the critical shortage of
Chinese-language teachers in the US, support schools wishing to
begin new Chinese language programs, promote professional
development for teachers and the production of high quality
instructional materials, officials close to the signing ceremony
said.
They added that the initiative will also provide students with a
pipeline to the College Board's new AP Chinese Language and Culture
Exam.
Praising the initiative as "good for US students, good for the
US, and good for the world in the 21st century," Caperton said the
College Board was pleased and enthusiastic about the new initiative
between the two institutions.
He expressed appreciation for Hanban's support in helping
American students learn Chinese, discover the vibrant Chinese
culture, and participate more fully in the cultural exchange
between the two countries.
Noting that when more than 200 million children in China are
studying English, only 24,000 in the US are studying Chinese,
Caperton pledged efforts to help thousands of US schools that want
to offer their students a 21st century choice.
On his part, Zhou urged education institutions from all over the
world to join the efforts for international promotion of the
Chinese language. He praised the College Board and universities
that are hosting Confucius Institutes for taking a significant
first step, and expressed the hope that more institutions will
follow.
In a 2004 survey, nearly 2,400 American high schools expressed
an interest in offering the Advanced Placement Chinese course in
2006-2007, but many of these schools are handicapped by a shortage
of qualified Chinese teachers. To help ease the shortage, the new
initiative will temporarily place 150 guest teachers from China in
American classrooms over the next three years.
To ensure program continuity when the guest teachers return to
China, the initiative also enables the College Board to support
nearly 300 American teacher-candidates in their efforts to attain
state certification.
The plan's partners had already moved forward with a number of
the projects outlined in the agreement even before its official
signing.
In an effort to support the ongoing professional development of
teachers already in the classroom, 60 American teachers of Chinese
will benefit from intensive, three-week-long summer institutes to
be held at Beijing Normal University and Shanghai International
Studies University this summer.
These programs will expand to include more teachers and involve
others in the coming years. Nearly 600 American teachers of Chinese
will have access to these programs over the next five years.
In addition, some 400 American educators will have the
opportunity to travel to China during the summer months to become
familiar with China's people, language, culture, and educational
systems. They are expected to better support the growth of Chinese
programs in their own districts.
The College Board is a not-for-profit membership association
whose mission is to connect students to college success and
opportunity. Founded in 1900, the association is composed of more
than 5,000 schools, colleges, universities, and other educational
organizations.
(Xinhua News Agency April 20, 2006)
